Way back last August I booked myself on a reed making day course that I'd seen advertised. It finally took place last Saturday! I have to admit I haven't really done very much reed making recently. I did a little tying on earlier in the year but that is about it. The course was great though and has given me a much needed push.
There were only 6 of us in the group so chance for plenty of questions. We went through the whole process - from tube cane to finished reed. Obviously not much time for refining of the reed at the end but it was really helpful to have some focussed time thinking about reeds and also interesting to see a different way of doing things.
Possibly the two most useful things for me were:
1. A detailed demonstration on how to sharpen my knife - I kind of knew how but it was useful to know that I was on the right track. I was always slightly worried I was ruining my knife rather than sharpening it!
2. A clear approach to how to scrape a blank consistently - my teacher uses a profiler so hadn't given me too much guidance here. I had picked up one approach from my reed making DVD but it was good to have an alternative view.
I picked up some other tips about general scraping technique too.
In terms of going forward I've realised I need to just practice my scraping skills more. I have some blanks made with quite cheap cane which aren't going to make good reeds - they are far too open at the top -so I am using them to specifically practice making a neat U at the bottom and also scraping a good tip without slicing off the corners. I thought this was something I could maybe manage in my lunch break at work, sadly it turns out that I couldn't really see what I was doing. I did much better at my window at home.
There is a saying that the three most important things for making reeds are:
1, a sharp knife
2. a sharp knife
3. a sharp knife.
Personally I would also add - good light. Or maybe that's just a sign of getting old...
Friday 19 April 2013
Tuesday 9 April 2013
Exciting Cor Anglais news
My exciting news for this week is that I have a Cor Anglais on approval! It is a second hand Howarth S5 which was previously owned by a professional oboist who once played with the Halle Orchestra. It is a beautiful instrument!
Last week my oboe was having a full service so all my practice was done on the Cor which really forced me to spend time playing with it - a good thing.
There have been some difficulties: I have found it more tiring playing it than my oboe - partly because of the weight and partly due to the increased amount of air required through it. I think that would get better with practice. I also think the thumb rest is in the wrong place for my hands as I find it quite uncomfortable to play unless I support the weight of the instrument elsewhere. My handy music stand shelf has come in quite useful as I have been resting the bell on that while I play. I think this is fixable though - the position of the thumb rest can be moved and I can also look at different types of support. I need to work with my teacher to work out the best fingering for some of the high notes as I am struggling with anything over Eb.
On the plus side - it sounds absolutely beautiful and I love playing it.
Last week I focussed on playing through things (and working on my lesson pieces), now I have my oboe back for normal practice I have decided to be a little more specific in my Cor playing. I am focussing on long notes with a tuner, slow scales with a tuner and playing through the slow Ferling studies.
I am taking it to my lesson on Monday before making a final decision but I think there is a strong chance that I will be buying this - pictures will follow when (if?) it is mine. :-)
Last week my oboe was having a full service so all my practice was done on the Cor which really forced me to spend time playing with it - a good thing.
There have been some difficulties: I have found it more tiring playing it than my oboe - partly because of the weight and partly due to the increased amount of air required through it. I think that would get better with practice. I also think the thumb rest is in the wrong place for my hands as I find it quite uncomfortable to play unless I support the weight of the instrument elsewhere. My handy music stand shelf has come in quite useful as I have been resting the bell on that while I play. I think this is fixable though - the position of the thumb rest can be moved and I can also look at different types of support. I need to work with my teacher to work out the best fingering for some of the high notes as I am struggling with anything over Eb.
On the plus side - it sounds absolutely beautiful and I love playing it.
Last week I focussed on playing through things (and working on my lesson pieces), now I have my oboe back for normal practice I have decided to be a little more specific in my Cor playing. I am focussing on long notes with a tuner, slow scales with a tuner and playing through the slow Ferling studies.
I am taking it to my lesson on Monday before making a final decision but I think there is a strong chance that I will be buying this - pictures will follow when (if?) it is mine. :-)
Tuesday 2 April 2013
Winter (Spring?) Term Review
Where has this term gone? The weeks have flown by. It has been a busy term. I have worked hard on some challenging repertoire and my playing has moved forward.
Pieces for this term:
Arnold - Sonatina (all 3 movements)
Vivaldi - Sonata in C minor (all 4 movements)
Bougeouis - Fantasy Pieces for oboe (first 5, now working on number 6)
Berkeley - 3 moods (currently working on number 1)
Bellini - Concerto in Eb (have only just started this)
Most of these pieces have been challenging from both a "number of notes" and a stamina perspective. I've put a large chunk of my practice towards exercising my fingers and building exercises based around the tricky bars in these pieces. This was especially true of the final Arnold movement (very fast scales), the final movement of the Vivaldi and the Berkeley piece. I've had to change my practice routine as a result and have pretty much dropped all of the "technical exercises" I was doing. I now do some scales to warm up and move straight into my studies and pices. I wouldn't have time to get through everything otherwise.
The Arnold piece is now resting - I won't say finished as it does require more work, but I think I've taken it as far as I am capable of doing for now. I will come back to it later. The Vivaldi will soon be put to one side too. I spent weeks battling with the final movement of this, without feeling like I was getting there but it then seemed to come together eventually. I am loving the Berkeley which is challenging in both notes and interpretation. The Bellini feels like a bit of light relief and is lovely.
Studies - I have finished working through the 48 Ferling studies. My teacher has taken me through these quickly so that I get the notes under my fingers She has pointed out that these are studies to keep going back to all the time. I need to work out the best way to do this.
My new study book is the Loyon 32 Etudes and I have the first one to do over Easter. It is fiendish - perpetual semi quavers triplets. There are too many notes and accidentals per bar, I have to work through it slowly and systematically to make sure I am playing the right notes. I am slowly getting there. It is also in quite small print, so today I gave in and made an enlarged copy, It helped more than I thought it would. It will be interesting to see how I can play the Arnold once I've worked through all of these!
Summer term starts again a week on Monday!
Pieces for this term:
Arnold - Sonatina (all 3 movements)
Vivaldi - Sonata in C minor (all 4 movements)
Bougeouis - Fantasy Pieces for oboe (first 5, now working on number 6)
Berkeley - 3 moods (currently working on number 1)
Bellini - Concerto in Eb (have only just started this)
Most of these pieces have been challenging from both a "number of notes" and a stamina perspective. I've put a large chunk of my practice towards exercising my fingers and building exercises based around the tricky bars in these pieces. This was especially true of the final Arnold movement (very fast scales), the final movement of the Vivaldi and the Berkeley piece. I've had to change my practice routine as a result and have pretty much dropped all of the "technical exercises" I was doing. I now do some scales to warm up and move straight into my studies and pices. I wouldn't have time to get through everything otherwise.
The Arnold piece is now resting - I won't say finished as it does require more work, but I think I've taken it as far as I am capable of doing for now. I will come back to it later. The Vivaldi will soon be put to one side too. I spent weeks battling with the final movement of this, without feeling like I was getting there but it then seemed to come together eventually. I am loving the Berkeley which is challenging in both notes and interpretation. The Bellini feels like a bit of light relief and is lovely.
Studies - I have finished working through the 48 Ferling studies. My teacher has taken me through these quickly so that I get the notes under my fingers She has pointed out that these are studies to keep going back to all the time. I need to work out the best way to do this.
My new study book is the Loyon 32 Etudes and I have the first one to do over Easter. It is fiendish - perpetual semi quavers triplets. There are too many notes and accidentals per bar, I have to work through it slowly and systematically to make sure I am playing the right notes. I am slowly getting there. It is also in quite small print, so today I gave in and made an enlarged copy, It helped more than I thought it would. It will be interesting to see how I can play the Arnold once I've worked through all of these!
Summer term starts again a week on Monday!
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